The story of the 1936 Olympics, tales from the soul of English cricket, a charlatan footballer called Kaiser and the remarkable Doddie Weir all take pride of place on our bookshelves
Kevin Mitchell
In the crowded world of sporting fame, to be known universally by a single name lifts an athlete closer to the stars. Few have flown so far into the stratosphere – and plummeted with such Icarusian suddenness – as Tiger. History suggests his flight is far from over.
The wax that bound the wings of Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods was never going to hold under the heat of daily scrutiny, such were his built-in frailties, and so it was that he fell to earth in 2009, chased from his secluded house by his wife wielding his golf clubs, the implements that made him famous. He confessed to his infidelities, repented and survived.
But Tiger’s spirit creaked as worryingly as his body and he fell again, pulled over by cops in the small hours in Jupiter, Florida, looking like a zombified refugee from a rehab hostel, in 2017. His meds had properly kicked in. His dignity was shredded once more.
Surely, we thought, he cannot rise again. Against all odds, and even his own expectations, he has. In 2018, his comeback season after four back surgeries in two years, he almost won the Open at Carnoustie. He did win the PGA Tour Championship in Atlanta, Georgia, his first success in five years. He had won the first of his 14 majors – the Masters – in his first full year as a pro, and expected to finish first every time he played. He seriously did. “Second sucks,” he said in an early interview.
Yet for most of his life, Tiger Woods has remained an enigma, hiding in full view. He allowed only a few people close to him. Those thus privileged were mostly bound by non-disclosure agreements – which is why the American sports writers Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian deserve our appreciation and plaudits for their mighty work, Tiger Woods (Simon & Schuster, £20).
Certainly, they could have called it “Just Tiger”. But, as with their exhaustive research, they left nothing to chance. They cut through a forest of false trails and road blocks, gathering together testimonies on and off the record from scores of people to provide as comprehensive a view of Tiger as anyone could manage. The subject did not take part in the exercise but this extract is worth repeating: “‘He constantly put me down,’ Tiger recalled. ‘Then, when I really got mad, he would say, I know you want to slam down that club, but don’t you dare do it! Don’t you dare! He would push me to the breaking point, then back off. Push me to the breaking point, then back off. It was wild.’
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